Season to Taste

A faithful church member is one who weekly attends church, regularly contributes money to it and obeys the church’s teachings. Jesus, however, has another definition of the faithful who follow him, calling them “the salt of the earth”! His definition has diverse meanings, and one could be that since the creation of cooking salt has worked its magic of enhancing food’s subtle favors. The salty followers of Nazareth’s Saline Savior aren’t known for their weekly attendance at church but for sprinkling salt wherever needed. “Season to taste,” say cooking recipes, while Jesus’ recipe is “Season as needed.” You can follow his recipe when you approach a store cashier whose face reflects someone being treated like a robot. Take a few moments, make eye to eye contact, and say a few kind words to the person as one human being to another. In doing so, you affirm, “You are not just some checkout machine!” Be the salt of your home as well by adding some zestful enthusiasm to dull domestic routines or unpleasant activities. At your work, sprinkle a bit of salty vitality around the workplace to enhance the flavor of life in what happens there. Countless occasions exist to season life, but use caution when salting! The medical profession warns that our health can be seriously endangered by the excessive use of salt. That same danger exists in religion. When zealous Christian fundamentalists of every denomination excessively scatter religious salt on everything, religion becomes unpalatable and unacceptable. Too much religion—like too much salt—is hazardous to your soul and to the world. In this hotly debated pre-election season spilling over with political propaganda, it is wise to follow the old Roman advice: “Take what you hear with a grain of salt!” Interestingly, this ageless advice was part of Pompey’s remedy for poison!